Organization

Director

The director of PDI, Prof. Dr. Roman Engel-Herbert, is responsible for the institute and its scientific program and output. Roman’s career as a physicist brought him from Germany to North America, where he worked as a postdoc before accepting a professorship in 2010 at Pennsylvania State University. In 2021, Roman returned to Germany and became Director of PDI, 15 years after completing his PhD there under the direction of Klaus H. Ploog and Thorsten Hesjedal.

Managing Director

PDI is one of seven research institutes within the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V. (FVB). All institutes share a common legal entity and administrative infrastructure while maintaining scientific autonomy. The administrative director of FVB, Martin Böhnke, functions as the managing director of the institutes.

Departments

Core Research Areas

Scientific Advisory Board

PDI's scientific advisory board consists of outstanding national and international researchers. They advise the institute on scientific matters, discuss its scientific strategy, and once a year evaluate its research activities. The current members are: